Brandless: The $3 Online Grocery

The store is called Brandless, and it sells generic grocery items, such as peanut butter, coffee, tea, cookies and other snacks. Brandless also sells cleaning supplies, beauty products – even dishes.

Everything costs $3. This is mainly because the company took away what it calls the "brand tax," or, the hidden costs of packaging (design and materials) and distribution of traditional goods.

The food Brandless sells is GMO-free, and more than half of those products are labeled organic, according to the company. Household cleaning products and beauty supplies contain no toxic ingredients.

There's also a philanthropic angle to the company – by becoming a B.More member (for only $36 a year), you get the following benefits:

Free ShippingB.More members get free shipping on every order over the $48 minimum purchase (Non-members must hit the $72 mark before being eligible).

Give MoreBrandless has partnered with Feeding America®, and upon joining, ten meals are donated to people facing hunger, and two meals are donated every time a member shops (vs. one meal donated by shopping non-members).

Brandless will appeal to those who buy on price (like an Amazon or Walmart customer). They will also appeal to those who are ‘brand agnostic’ and shop based on what’s inside the product, not so much by what’s on the package. Many consumers are more savvy to the fact that they’re paying an extra price (or as founder Lefler calls “The brand tax”) just for fancier packing and marketing. Those packaging and marketing costs really add up - sometimes adding over 40% to the cost of a product.

Brandless was incubated by Sherpa Capital and has raised $50 million to date. The company was founded by serial entrepreneurs Tina Sharkey and Ido Leffler, with product development led by Rachael Vegas, a 15-year Target vet, according to TechCrunch. The company has headquarters in San Francisco and Minneapolis.

Posted by John SuderJohn Suder is SUMO Heavy's Creative Director and Minister of Propaganda. John is also the co-host of SUMO Heavy's 'eCommerce Minute' show, which airs daily on Anchor.fm.In his spare time, John can be found prowling the streets of Philadelphia taking pictures of buildings and people.